Encyclopedia Hellenica
Volume 1 (History of the World 8) '''The War of the Eastern Mediterranean''' The beginnings of the War of the Eastern Mediterranean stretch back to the beginning of recorded history. The earliest civilizations to populate the Greek mainland were Magna Graecia (Athens), Hellenis (Lamia), and the Byzantine Empire (Byzantion). The island of Crete held a civilization at Heraklion. The earliest Turkish countries included Relforsia (Arcis), Boatopia (Yacht), and Holla (?). Eventually, these city-states coalesced into the more modern states of Magna Graecia which controlled the Balkan peninsula, Crete, the Byzantine Empire which controlled the northern Aegean, Relforsia which controlled western Turkey, and Boatopia, which controlled eastern Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean coast. The two major alliances in the East at the time included the Hellenic League (Magna Graecia, Crete, and Byzantium) and the Ottoman Pact (Relforsia, Boatopia, Ixupi, Holla, Somalistan). Crete wished for room to expand, and so took the province of Sparta on the Balkan peninsula. Athenian diplomats immediately sent an ultimatum requesting withdrawal from Sparta. When the ultimatum failed, Athenian forces invaded and captured both Sparta and the city of Heraklion, integrating Crete into the Athenian empire, and shrinking the Hellenic League to two nations. However at the same time as Crete was conquered, the empire of Relforsia quickly attacked and took Byzantium's three cities, destroying their empire. The Athenian leadership felt threatened by Relforsian aggression, which destroyed the Hellenic League. Athens immediately struck at the Ottoman Pact, launching a full-scale invasion of the Relforsian cities of Arcis and Byzantion. Athenian troops captured Byzantion, but the invasion of Arcis was a grand failure on a scale not previously seen by man. The final battle resulted in the deaths of 7,000 Athenians at the hands of a vastly outnumbered Relforsian army. By the end of the battle, 11,000 Athenians and 8,000 Relforsian defenders lay dead in the streets of Arcis. Meanwhile to the east, Boatopia had been slowly building strength, conquering its alliancemates and preparing for all-out war. With Relforsian troops on the border of Magna Graecia, Boatopia ordered a full-scale assault on their Relforsian allies. A panicked recall of troops by Relforsia followed but was of no use. The great cities of Aydune, Tirius, Nikaia, and Arcis fell. In the words of the Warchief of Relforsia, "I should have seen this coming." Boatopia also attacked the Greek island of Crete, but failed to capture it in an abortive assault. Relforsia and Magna Graecia quickly signed a peace treaty and began full cooperation against the Boatopian onslaught. The leadership of Athens devised a brilliant plan. Boatopian ships could not reach the Greek mainland without resupply at Heraklion. A Relforsian sneak attack reconquered their Turkish homeland while the Strategos of Athens sent their entire army to conquer Heraklion. The plan worked. Heraklion was in the hands of the Greeks again, and the Boatopian army had to turn around and go home. Magna Graecia and Relforsia continued to collaborate on war plans for the time being. Relforsia pursued peace with the Boatopians. The Boatopians quickly recaptured their port city, and Magna Graecia had to face the onslaught of the full Boatopian army. The Battle for Greece left Lamia, Byzantion, and Macedon in Boatopian hands, while Athens and Sparta remained safe in Greek hands. However, Relforsia, taking a page from Boatopia's playbook, backstabbed and conquered the cities of Yacht, Kayak, and Gondola. This had, however, decimated the Relforsian army. Magna Graecia quickly recaptured Lamia, Macedon, and Byzantion. Boatopia's leader, who had rumored to have killed himself after losing Yacht, came out of exile and recaptured Nicosia, Tirius, Aydune, Jerusalem, and Alexandria. Relforsia was reduced to a few scattered exclaves and the city of Arcis. But at the same time, the Principate sent 31,000 troops to attack Sparta, ushering in the Greco-Italian War. As quickly as the war started, it ended. Boatopia captured the last Relforsian strongholds and signed an extended peace treaty with the Athenians, satisfied that they had regained their ancestral lands. Meanwhile, Rome supported by Corsica and the Durosian Empire, had used this opportunity to capture Athens, Macedon, Heraklion, and Byzantion, while Greek troops were parading through Lamia. The look of the Central Mediterranean was vastly different at the end of the war. The Principate owned all of Greece except for Lamia and Thessaloniki. Boatopia owned virtually all of Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean coastline. Magna Graecia was being squeezed by every major power around it.=